


Time to Shine! The Talent Show Debut!

by orphan_account



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Contest Spectaculars, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Male-Female Friendship, Uncle-Niece Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 06:32:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,289
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3718660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Lisia and Chaz meet and perform for the first time, and Wallace does the uncle thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Time to Shine! The Talent Show Debut!

**Author's Note:**

> At this point in time, Juan is still head of the Sootopolis Gym, and Winona has yet to become a Gym Leader. As such, Wallace has not yet challenged the Pokemon League, nor is he the Hoenn Champion (meaning Steven is still an Elite Four member at this point).

Uncle Wallace always had a different feel to his aura when he was dressed for formality. A set of white robes -- consisting of trousers, a tailored tunic, a cape, and a hat – lined with soft aqua green had become his usual choice for such occasions, which included participation in contest spectaculars at Lilycove’s Contest Hall, or visits to Ever Grande City on league business.

While Uncle Wallace was still charming and warm with those he spoke to, something in the formal uniform made him seem, to Lisia, to be slightly… mysterious, or noble somehow. She couldn’t quite bring the word she wanted to mind. It was as if she was in the company of a shrine guardian or priest of some kind. (Although, unknown to Lisia, this wasn’t too far from the truth, given his role as a keeper of the Cave of Origin.)

Still, this air of mystery seemed to work wonders on the stage. Having seen a prior performance, Lisia knew that audience and judges seemed to love it. It was Uncle Wall’s signature style, as much as Milotic was his signature Pokemon.

As her guardian and mentor, Uncle Wallace had come along with Lisia to the latest contest spectacular. It would be her first time on stage with Ali, her swablu. Uncle Wallace was also participating, albeit at a higher level.

While preparing for the show, Uncle Wallace had helped Lisia to fix her makeup – “the lights will wash you out – the right makeup will help you to shine,” he had told her – mixing shades of blush and eyeshadow on the back of his hand, almost like an artist mixing paints on a palette. He had finished with a little glitter, and then had Lisia look in the mirror.

The makeup had been absolutely perfect. Lisia resisted the urge to hug Uncle Wall so as to avoid smudging her makeup all over his robes, but she was sure her assurances spoke for themselves. Uncle Wall had smiled and cleaned the makeup mixes off his hand with a wet wipe.

“Ten minutes to curtain up. All Normal Rank competitors please report to the wings,” a voice announced over the tannoy.

“Oh!” Lisia cried, looking up at the clock over the mirrors. “I should get going.”

“Do you want me to come with you?” Uncle Wall asked, tilting his head. “This is a big place.”

Lisia smiled to him. “I think I’ll be ok. You’ve got to get Alomomola prepared still, and I don’t want to hold you up.” Plus, she was sure she still remembered the directions to the stage door from the last time she had been here – albeit, as an audience member, attending her Uncle’s show.

Uncle Wall studied her – Lisia felt as if he was peering into the depths of her soul – and then made a soft “hmph” sound, smiling. “If you’re sure.”

Lisia made a waving gesture, and then saluted, smiling brightly. “Time to shine! The apprentice’s big debut!”

Uncle Wall chuckled softly, but said nothing.

Sparing one last glance at the clock, Lisia kissed Uncle Wall on the cheek, and dashed for the door.

“Love you, Uncle Wall! I’ll see you after!”

Lisia heard Uncle Wall reply, “Love you too, sweetheart,” as she stepped out into the corridor – where she promptly crashed into a boy with blond hair. Lisia grabbed hold of the doorframe and put down a foot firmly to keep from falling. The boy, to his credit, quickly offered his arm to steady her.

Once they were both standing straight again, the boy bowed deeply.

“My apologies, Miss, I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

Lisia blinked, and then laughed softly, blushing slightly. “Oh, no, I just didn’t see you – I should be the one apologizing!” She gave a bow and the boy stuttered something incomprehensible.

“Are you heading for the stage?” Lisia asked.

“Uhm, yeah,” the boy replied. As she got a proper look at him, she noticed he was wearing a tailored blue suit of what looked like silk, with a black mandarin-collar shirt. His blond hair was neatly combed, and he was wearing a hint of makeup – to avoid being washed out by the stagelights, Lisia thought as she remembered Uncle Wall’s words. “You wouldn’t happen to know where the stage is?” The boy added, glancing down the corridor.

“I think it’s down this way,” Lisia said, pointing to her right.

The boy nodded, trotting alongside her as she led him down the corridor.

“Have you participated before?” He asked.

“This is my first time, actually,” Lisia admitted. “But my Uncle’s performed in the contests before.”

Another nod. “I guess you’ll know your way around, then?”

“Sort of,” said Lisia, glancing about. A sign nearby indicated that her memory was correct – it pointed out the direction for the stage. “Here, this way!” She gestured to the boy, who looked entirely too serious as he followed after her.

At the wings of the stage, a small group of performers were waiting with their Pokemon. A girl in a bikini with a sarong wrapped around her waist, wearing heels, was fussing over a Staryu. There was a young boy in t-shirt, shorts, and back-to-front cap, a band-aid over the bridge of his nose. He was petting a Linoone. A pair of schoolgirls tittered as they played with a Skitty. Lisia let Ali loose from his pokéball. Next to her, the blond boy released a Machop.

Lisia tilted her head. Entering a Machop in a cuteness contest seemed a little out of the ordinary. As if reading her thoughts, the boy grinned sheepishly.

“Macherie may not seem the type, I know, but I reckon she can hold her own out there.”

Lisia smiled. Of course, having confidence and faith in one’s Pokemon was important, and if the boy felt that way, then perhaps his bond with the Machop – Macherie – was strong enough for him to see past the usual stereotypes applied to Fighting types.

Before she could answer, another announcement came over the tannoy – five minutes to go.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Lisia said, taking her ID tag out of her pocket. “I forgot to put this on.”

“Lisia,” the boy said, reading the name off the card as she put it on. “Pleased to meet you.” The boy slipped a hand into his own pockets and fetched out his ID. “Forgot to put mine on too.”

Lisia offered a handshake once the boy – Chaz, according to his tag – was wearing his ID.

“It’s good to meet you, Chaz,” she said. “And Macherie.”

Chaz smiled, resting a hand on Macherie’s head. “You never did introduce me to your Pokemon.”

“Oh!” Lisia blushed, covering her mouth. “Haha, my apologies! This is Ali. He’s a swablu.”

Chaz looked from her to Ali and back, and then said, “I see it now. You chose your costume to resemble Ali.”

“Yes!” Lisia cheered, punching the air happily. “I’m so glad you get it!” She had worked so hard on putting her costume together, from altering a dress (one of Uncle Wall’s neighbours, Mrs. Raptis, had helped her along) to making armwarmers and legwarmers out of a fluffy material, and choosing accessories.

“I hear the judges give extra points for matching costumes,” Chaz commented. “Maybe you might get lucky.”

Before Lisia could reply, the group was being chivvied into an orderly line. Ali chattered anxiously as the lights on stage went down. She could hear an announcement being made – asking the audience to turn off their cellphones, and noting that flash photography and filming were prohibited. The announcement went on to indicate the emergency exits, and asked audience members to please pick up their trash before leaving the hall.

The level of chatter slowly reduced, and then, the hall was silent.

Then, pulsing lights began to flash and sweep across the stage as the music started – and all at once, the stage lights came up.

Names were being called. The girl with the Staryu. The boy with the Linoone. The schoolgirls with the Skitty. Each marched out on stage with their Pokémon, to applause and cheering, and took a bow.

“Entry number four: LISIA AND ALI!”

Her legs suddenly felt like jello beneath her. She wondered if Uncle Wall was watching. That thought put a grin on her face and she strode out on stage, Ali chirping and twittering behind her.

In the centre of the stage, Lisia raised her hand into the air and then swept it down in front of her and to the side as she bowed in an elegant gesture. Ali twirled and made something resembling a roaring sound of excitement.

The audience seemed to cheer just a bit louder. Lisia had to stop herself from laughing, a bright warmth inside of her wanting to burst out. She blew a kiss, turned and waved as she walked off stage.

Back in the wings, a female tech wearing a headset grinned and gave Lisia a thumbs up of approval, and then Lisia found herself being guided around the back of the stage set to the wing she had entered from.

A couple minutes later, Chaz was back in line behind her. Onstage, the music had stopped, and a man was explaining how the contest worked for the audience members.

“The audience seemed to really take to you,” Chaz observed softly. “I’ve only ever seen them go that crazy for that dude with the white robes – the one with the Milotic?”

Lisia blinked. Had Chaz just compared her to her Uncle? She was about to reply when the music started up again. The contestants were to go back on stage with their Pokémon and stand in a line. Lisia followed after the others.

The audience cheering for them brought back the rushing flood of bright warmth that Lisia had felt, and she waved to them with a smile as the line of competitors walked on stage. The stage lights were too bright to really see the audience, much less be able to tell if Uncle Wall was in amongst them.

Behind the competitors, an electronic board showed names of contestants, their Pokémon, and their given score. As the competition hadn’t started yet, the scores still sat at zero.

The girl with the Staryu went first, choosing Bubble as their move. The Staryu let out a stream of bubbles that only floated for a short time before bursting in the warmth of the lights.

The boy with the Linoone chose Protect, a screen of energy forming in front of the Pokémon with a flash.

The schoolgirls with the Skitty were next. The Skitty mewed, sounding as if it was trying to hold a tune, and not quite managing – they had tried to have Skitty use Sing, but it didn’t seem to work terribly well.

Lisia knew, when her turn came, what to go for.

“Hone Claws!” She called to Ali. The Swablu roared, showing its teeth and little clawed feet. There were a few “aww” sounds from the audience, Ali having apparently proven his cuteness on this round, and then cheering and clapping.

Chaz had Macherie use Attract, the Machop trying to show off muscles that didn’t exist. The audience laughed at this.

On it went like this, each competitor choosing and showing off moves performed by their Pokémon, some doing better than others. Ali certainly seemed, to Lisia, to be having fun. During one of the rounds, Lisia was asked to have Ali perform an encore.

“Ali, use Disarming Voice!”

Ali twittered and chattered, flitting around and twirling. The audience cheered even louder as the little blue and white Pokémon fluttered about the stage before returning to Lisia.

Having gotten the most points on the last round, Lisia and Ali went first on the final round, picking up extra points with Attract. (Ali’s feathers seemed to fluff more than usual, as he pulled loop-de-loops in the middle of the air and chattered brightly.)

Macherie performed a Fake Out, winding up as if to punch a plushie, and appearing to follow through, before stopping an inch short, and patting the plushie on the head instead. This brought laughter from the audience again.

The two schoolgirls had Skitty try to use Sing again, but alas, it wasn’t a much better performance than before. Linoone used Growl, doing exactly what the technique name suggested. The lady with the Staryu finished with Water Gun, spewing forth a stream of water from a jewel in its centre, picking up a few points for being an appealing move.

At last, the competitors linked hands, bowed together, and then walked offstage.

The music calmed down and then stopped as the man from earlier returned to the stage to give a speech to the audience.

“I think you’ve won,” Chaz whispered behind Lisia. “Your score is higher than everyone else’s.”

Lisia shook her head. “Too early to call it. There’s the points from the introduction phase to add.”

The points for that round – when each competitor had walked on stage for the first time – had been cleared from the board prior to the talent round. The MC was indicating to the board, and a drum roll was playing as the points totalled up, and then –

“Please give a hearty congratulations to Lisia and Ali!”

Lisia nearly screamed. She covered her mouth so it came out as a choked squeak of joy, and then turned and hugged Chaz tightly. Chaz, seemingly surprised by this sudden display of emotion, stood stock still for a second, and then gingerly patted Lisia on the back.

Lisia gave Chaz a gentle squeeze, and then turned to walk back out on stage, shaking hands with the other competitors as she went (Uncle Wall had told her that it was good form to do so). The audience cheered and clapped as she returned to the stage, Ali flitting alongside her.

The MC shook Lisia’s hand, and then passed her a case with a glass lid. Inside the case was a medal with a ribbon.

“Congratulations, young lady. We hope you will keep training and return to compete again,” the MC told her.

“Thank you so much,” Lisia beamed up at him. “I will!” Given her first victory, Uncle Wall would no doubt expect any less, she mentally added. Much like with the Pokémon Gyms, each level of the contests required more work, training, and care for one’s Pokémon. It was a challenge, and one Uncle Wall would encourage her in.

Lisia waved to the audience, and blew a kiss.

“Thank you, everybody!” She called, before walking off stage.

Chaz had come in second, being called out to receive his ribbon, with third and fourth going to the boy with the Linoone and the lady with the Staryu, respectively. The girls with the Skitty looked devastated, but held themselves in check, clearly trying to avoid crying.

The judge offered a few more words, and then everyone was back on stage to take a last bow together.

At last, the curtain came down, and the music quietened.

The two schoolgirls – Sally and Linda, it turned out their names were – each gave Lisia a hug and words of congratulations. She heartily wished she had the words to console them.

The boy with the Linoone – Alex – chattered to the lady with the Staryu, apparently his older sister named Dani.

“Oh well, I guess this is congratulations,” Chaz said, offering Lisia a handshake as they walked away from the stage.

Lisia took it, and tilted her head to one side. “Macherie did well today, too.”

“Yeah, that she did,” Chaz said softly. “I’ll just have to train harder to catch up with you next time.”

Lisia nodded. “I’ll be training too. Can’t stop now, right?”

“That’s right,” Chaz said. “With a rival like me, who knows when I might overtake you?”

Lisia wanted to smile in response to that, but the idea of having a rival – of the contests getting more serious rather than a chance to enjoy Pokémon outwith a battle setting – made something cold form in the base of her stomach.

Rather than respond, she opted to change the subject.

“Oh, that reminds me – I don’t know if my Uncle will still be around, since he’s competing soon too, but do you want to meet him?” Lisia asked.

“Sure, why not?” Chaz replied.

“Hopefully, he might still be in the dressing rooms,” Lisia said, leading Chaz down the corridor to the one from which she had emerged earlier that day.

Opening the door, she called out, “Uncle Wall, I’m back!”

He wasn’t there.

“I guess he must be getting ready,” Lisia explained. “Sorry about that.” She also silently wondered if her Uncle had indeed been in the audience, and if he was still in amongst the throng leaving the auditorium, which would also explain his absence.

“Hey, it’s no problem. I understand,” Chaz shrugged. “If he’s performing, why don’t we go sit in the audience? I’m sure he’d like that.”

“Good point,” Lisia nodded. Although her Uncle wasn’t expected on stage until the Master Rank show, seeing the other contestants seemed a good idea. She wondered if maybe it might even help with preparing for the next competition.

***

The Super Rank show had been as much fun to watch as the Normal Rank had been to participate in. Each trainer and Pokémon gave it their all – although a few didn’t quite succeed in their intentions. A break of an hour followed, to allow competitors, audience members, and judges alike to have lunch.

It was a bright, sunny afternoon in Lilycove, so rather than staying inside the Contest Hall, Lisia and Chaz opted to sit outside with lunches bought from the department store. Chaz had opted for katsusando – a sandwich filled with breaded and fried pork, the bread toasted and still warm (a guilty pleasure, he admitted to Lisia: the sauce and breadcrumbs made it messy, sometimes). Lisia had chosen a pasta salad with pesto and small chicken pieces, and a yoghurt with berries in the bottom and granola topping.

Sitting by the lighthouse, Lisia could hear wingulls and pelippers calling, the sea washing up on the sand. The sun was warm on her face, tempered by the cool sea air. It felt so peaceful.

“Say,” Chaz spoke up suddenly, glancing over to Lisia. “You said your Uncle is competing, right? What rank is he going for?”

“He’ll be in the Master Rank competition this afternoon,” Lisia said. Chaz looked impressed, and nodded.

“He must be really good,” Chaz commented.

“He is,” Lisia replied, nodding. “My Uncle… he taught me, too. Although I’ve still a long way to go.”

Chaz smiled. “Your Uncle’s tutelage shows.”

Lisia blushed, which she hid by taking a sip of her iced tea.

“What about your own family? Are they into these contests?” Lisia asked, setting her iced tea down next to her.

“Not really,” Chaz stared off into the distance. “They think it’s silly. They’ll be waiting for me to give up, now that I’ve tasted defeat.”

“I’m sorry,” Lisia said softly. Uncle Wallace had been so supportive, that she couldn’t imagine relatives who could be uncaring.

Chaz just shrugged.

“I’m not going to give up, you understand,” he said, looking at Lisia. “Even if they want me to. I’ll just keep working at it. I’ll show them I can do this.”

“Then, you’ll challenge the Contest Spectacular again?” Lisia asked.

Chaz nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes to help Macherie shine – to show my parents – and to keep up with you.”

Lisia nodded silently. Chaz’s courage was admittedly admirable, she thought. “I wish you the best, then,” Lisia told him.

Chaz frowned. “Wait, what about you? Aren’t you going to challenge the next rank?”

Lisia blinked. She hadn’t meant to give the impression that she wasn’t.

“Well – yes,” Lisia said, feeling herself stumbling slightly over her words. “I just wanted to wish you good luck was all.”

“I don’t need luck,” Chaz shook his head. “Just a lot of work!”

The sentiment was understandable. After all, luck could only take a trainer so far if they didn’t apply the time and effort to get better as well.

“Then, you and I… we’ll both do our best, right? We’ll both work hard,” Lisia told Chaz.

Chaz’s expression brightened.

“And I’ll face you in the next rank, whatever I have to do to get there,” he replied, offering a handshake. “Right?”

Lisia felt something sunny and bright warm up inside of her, from having managed to seemingly spur Chaz on. She took the handshake, returning it.

“Right!”

***

The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the last two shows. The Hyper Rank show featured an Audino, a Jigglypuff, a Sylveon, and a Pikachu wearing a costume matching its trainer. During a brief break, Lisia and Chaz bought small tubs of ice cream and sodas. Then, the Master Rank show started. When Lisia pointed out her Uncle Wallace, Chaz nearly choked on his lemonade (“ _that_ ’s your Uncle?!”), although the brightness of the stage lights would have probably obscured this from her Uncle’s view.

Uncle Wall was entering an Alomomola – not his signature Pokémon, but an important team member – into the contest. He gracefully bowed to the audience during the introduction phase, Alomomola floating around and dipping in an approximation of a bow of sorts. Lisia cheered and clapped loudly, hoping her Uncle might hear her, hoping he would know he had her support (although she knew that surely she would be drowned out, and that with the bright lights and large crowd, he probably couldn’t see her either).

Soon, the introductions were over, and the talent round began. Uncle Wall’s strategy was straightforward enough – he had Alomomola use Refresh, a simple technique to prevent the Pokemon from being startled. As a low scoring move, it also gained him very little in the way of points or attention, ensuring him a chance to go last in the next round.

In the next round, Alomomola’s Draining Kiss technique startled the other Pokemon, stealing away their points in the process. The following round saw a repeat of Refresh, and then Draining Kiss again.

At last, on the final round, Uncle Wall broke the pattern by using Secret Power. While it was a move from another category – “Clever” – owing to the pattern of prior moves, Secret Power seemed more effective than anything from within the “Cute” category. The other competitors seemed almost unable to stand, as if some weight was forcing them to the ground. The points racked up, and Alomomola floated in the air, unaffected and innocent. Yet more points racked up as the judges called for an encore.

Alomomola unleashed something that resembled Aqua Tail, whipping up water from nowhere and flicking it over the other contestants with ease.

To say it was a success was an understatement. Uncle Wall’s points counter was filled with hearts. As the final round continued, none of the other competitors got even close to his score.

Eventually, the talent competition came to a close. Uncle Wallace joined hands with the other contestants for the final bow, and then exited.

“How in the world is he not the Champion?” Chaz questioned during the audience chatter between the competition and the announcement of the winner. “Your Uncle is…”

Lisia nodded. “He’s really good, I know,” she replied, glancing down to the stage. There was so much she yet had to learn if she wanted to make him proud, or even challenge him one day. “I could only dream of living up to his example.”

Chaz tilted his head. “I don’t know about that,” he said, blinking. “You put on a pretty good show earlier.”

Just then, the MC returned to the stage, and the audience went quiet.

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is it – the one who will walk away with the title of Master has been decided. So, without further ado, the moment you’ve all been waiting for – the Master of the Cute category is… WALLACE with ALOMOMOLA!”

The crowd went wild. Uncle Wall walked out on stage, waving to the audience. He smiled, shaking hands with the MC, and then gave a bow.

“Thank you!” Uncle Wallace called, kissing his fingers and presenting them to the audience as if to throw the kiss to them, and then – with Alomomola floating alongside him – he departed from the stage once more.

A few more words, one last curtain call, and the show was over for the day.

It took a while for Lisia and Chaz to find their way out of the massive crowd leaving the auditorium. The main foyer was incredibly warm from the sheer number of people, and the bright afternoon sun shining in through the large windows.

Uncle Wall was nowhere to be seen. Supposing that he was still in the dressing room, Lisia led Chaz away to the corridor where they had met earlier that morning. As she opened the door, she heard voices from inside the room.

“… I wonder if that talent shines as brightly offstage, where there’s no audience?” A female voice asked.

“’Talent’ is a pursued interest,” Uncle Wall replied. From his voice, Lisia could imagine the wry expression on his face. “Believing in your team, and working hard – those are the same in the gym as onstage.”

Lisia went to close the door, feeling that she shouldn’t interrupt, when Uncle Wallace spoke up.

“Come in, Lisia. It’s all right.”

Her cheeks coloured slightly as she opened the door again, gesturing to Chaz to indicate he could follow along.

“I wasn’t sure if I should let you be,” Lisia admitted sheepishly, avoiding her Uncle’s gaze.

Uncle Wall smiled and rested his hand on Lisia’s head once she was close enough. The comforting weight and the sensation of him rubbing his thumb against the top of her head calmed whatever worries might still have remained.

“You have a friend with you?” Uncle Wall prompted gently.

Lisia nodded. “This is Chaz,” she said, gesturing with an upraised palm to the blond boy beside her.

“The boy with the Machop from this morning,” said the woman standing next to Uncle Wall.

“Yes ma’am,” Chaz said, seeming almost shocked to be addressed. Lisia glanced to him – she had only known Chaz for a day, but his entire demeanour, the awe that he was displaying, seemed oddly out of character.

The woman was just slightly shorter than Uncle Wall, her fringes swept to the side in such a way as to resemble wings. Atop her head sat a pair of goggles. She was wearing a flight suit. Lisia didn’t recognize her.

As if to realize this, Uncle Wall gestured to the woman and smiled.

“This is Winona. She works at the gym in Fortree City,” Uncle Wall said. “Winona, this is my niece, Lisia.”

“I saw your performance this morning,” Winona nodded, offering a handshake to Lisia. “You did well with your Swablu.”

“Thank you,” Lisia gave a slight bow, dipping her head. “Uncle Wall taught me a lot…”

Winona smiled slightly, her sterner features seeming to soften. “I can see that – although, your own work also shows through.” She looked to Chaz and added, “Your Machop has a lot of potential too. I hope you’ll keep working.”

“Yes ma’am,” Chaz nodded, taking on a determined look. “I made a promise to keep going.”

“We both did,” Lisia agreed.

Uncle Wall and Winona exchanged glances.

“Looks like you’ll soon have two challengers for your title,” Winona grinned to Uncle Wall. Uncle Wall just smiled.

“Yes, and I’m certain they will both put in the necessary effort,” said Uncle Wall.

It was Lisia and Chaz’s turn to exchange glances. Of course, they had every intention to keep the promise they had made at the lighthouse that afternoon. Something in Uncle Wall’s voice had been stern as he had spoken, despite his smile. Perhaps it was his way of indicating that he was trusting both of them to uphold their promise…

“You will, of course, keep working too, Wallace?” Winona asked.

Uncle Wall nodded. “Naturally.”

“Then we all have something to strive for,” Winona said softly. It was at that moment that there was a ringing sound. Winona reached for something attached to her belt.

“That’ll be mine,” she said, releasing the thing from her belt. “Excuse me.”

Uncle Wall nodded and Winona headed across the room and out the door into the corridor, closing the door behind her.

Chaz watched Winona’s retreating back. Once the door was closed, Lisia noticed a troubled expression cross his face.

“What is it?” Lisia asked, tilting her head to one side.

Chaz pulled Macherie’s pokeball from his pocket, glancing through the red plastic to the Pokemon inside.

“I envy you,” Chaz admitted softly, then met Lisia’s gaze. “Not because you won – you deserve that ribbon,” Chaz added for clarification. “It’s just… you have your Uncle…”

“Your family don’t approve of your participation?” Uncle Wall asked.

“They’ll be waiting to say ‘I told you so’ when I get home,” Chaz replied, his tone slightly bitter.

“If it helps, you have us,” Lisia said, gesturing to herself and Uncle Wall, who she glanced to for confirmation. “Right, Uncle Wall? We’ll still support him.”

Uncle Wall tilted his head to one side. “You said earlier that you made a promise. What was that promise, if I may ask?”

Lisia and Chaz exchanged glances. Uncle Wall’s voice was slightly stern, and his gaze seemed to pierce straight into the depths of their souls, as if reading their hearts.

“I promised… that I wouldn’t give up,” Chaz said. “That I’d do whatever it takes to reach the next rank. To keep going.”

“I promised that I would keep working, too,” Lisia said. “To keep doing my best.”

“Are you prepared to keep that promise – Chaz? Lisia?” Uncle Wall turned his gaze on each of them in turn as he spoke. Lisia tried not to flinch at how serious he had suddenly become.

“Yes sir, on my honour, I will,” Chaz replied, seemingly not even thinking about it.

“Yes, Uncle Wall,” Lisia said, meeting his gaze. “I will keep it.”

“Then – I will tell you something that my own teacher, Juan, would say,” Uncle Wall said at last, seemingly satisfied with the answers Lisia and Chaz had given. “The work that we do alongside our Pokemon is the same whatever our path. Whether you are challenging a gym or competing in a contest, it all comes down trusting and believing in your team.”

“But what about training? And working hard?” Chaz asked, furrowing his brows. “Aren’t they important too?”

“They are,” Uncle Wall nodded. “The effort you put in is important. That’s why you need to practice. With that practice also comes trust and support, which you also need.”

Chaz nodded silently. He seemed to be thinking through what Uncle Wall had just said.

“If you are prepared to keep your promise, then – you will have my support -- as well,” Uncle Wall said deliberately. Chaz looked up at him, and then smiled.

“Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me.”

Uncle Wall nodded in response. “I will be trusting you to uphold your word.”

“Yessir, you got it!” Chaz replied, his expression brightening further.

Lisia smiled as Uncle Wall glanced over to her.

“Thank you, Uncle Wall,” she said.

Uncle Wall gave another nod of response to this.

“So… how long do you think it’ll take until I can challenge you?” Chaz asked, grinning. Lisia appreciated that he was trying to break the serious air that had filled the room over the course of their conversation.

Uncle Wall chuckled, not immune to Chaz’s humor.

“A long time yet, Chaz. A **very** long time.”

**END**


End file.
